In computer graphics, three-dimensional (3D) modeling involves generation of a representation of a 3D surface of an object. The representation can be referred to as a 3D object data model, and can be rendered or displayed as a two-dimensional image by way of 3D rendering or displayed as a 3D image. A 3D object data model typically represents a 3D object using a collection of points in 3D space, connected by various geometric entities such as, for example, triangles, lines, and curved surfaces. Various techniques exist for generating 3D object data models utilizing, for example, point clouds and geometric shapes.
Being a collection of data, a 3D model can be created by hand, algorithmically, or by scanning one or more objects. As an example, an artist can manually generate a 3D image of an object; the 3D image can be used as the 3D model. As another example, an object can be scanned from different angles to generate scanned images. The scanned images can be combined to generate the 3D image of the object. As yet another example, an image of an object can be used to generate a point cloud that can be algorithmically processed to generate the 3D image.
A 3D object data model can include a solid model that defines a volume of the object, or can include a shell or boundary model that represents a surface, such as, for example, the boundary of the object. Because the appearance of an object depends largely on the object's exterior, boundary representations are common in computer graphics.
3D models are used in a wide variety of fields, and can be displayed using a number of different types of interfaces. Interfaces can provide functionality to enable interaction between a user and the 3D model.